Holland America Line has officially taken delivery of its new flagship ms Rotterdam, as she became the third vessel in the Pinnacle Class series within the fleet. Rotterdam will also become the seventh ship to bear this name, in honour of the Dutch city where Holland America Line was founded back in 1873.
An intimate handover ceremony took place at Fincantieri’s Marghera shipyard in Italy on the evening of July 29th. It was live-streamed on Fincantieri’s Facebook page and attended by the ship’s master, Captain Werner Timmers, and Cyril Tatar, Holland America Group’s vice president of newbuilding services. Giuseppe Bono, CEO, Fincantieri, and several other executives also attended. Meanwhile from across the Atlantic video congratulations were extended by Jan Swartz, president of Holland America Group, and Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line.
Captain Timmers was on hand to participate in an important maritime tradition as he accepted the bottle that held the first water to touch the ship’s hull during the float out ceremony in October 2020.
“The Rotterdam looks stunning and will certainly live up to bearing such an iconic name as the new flagship of our fleet, carrying on a tradition of excellence that our guests have loved for nearly 150 years. Thank you to our partners at Fincantieri and our own team members who worked tirelessly to deliver the ship on schedule during what has been the most challenging of times, and also deliver a ship that looks beautiful, is immaculately finished and will be an incredible addition to our brand. We cannot wait to welcome guests on board later this fall.”
Gus Antorcha, president of Holland America Line
When will the Rotterdam welcome its first guests?
For now Rotterdam will remain in non-guest operations until it departs Amsterdam on its transatlantic crossing on the 20th of October 2021 as she heads to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, where she will welcome her first guests on the 3rd of November 2021.
Where will the Rotterdam sail to?
Rotterdam‘s inaugural season will be spent in the warm waters of the Caribbean. After a couple of short inaugural sailings to Key West and Holland America‘s very own private island, Half Moon Cay, she will cruise 10 and 11-night itineraries to the Southern Caribbean until the New Year at which point she will begin sailing shorter 7-night itineraries. In April 2022 Rotterdam will cross the Atlantic back to the Netherlands where she will spend the summer sailing 7-night Norwegian Fjords itineraries from her homeport of Amsterdam.
